The international top 20 cities includes: Hong Kong, New York City, Singapore, Minneapolis, Brooklyn, London, Los Angeles, Paris, Washington, D.C., Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Vatican City, Wuhan, Chicago, Monaco, San Francisco and Macau.
Briefly about the method
Wikipedia currently has over 53 million articles in over 300 languages. Despite the impressive number of articles, not all topics can be written in this free encyclopedia. At the same time, the community of each language version has the ability to decide which topic can be described in the encyclopedia, and which is not (for example, article must be notable). In addition, each language version can describe the same topic in its own way – it all depends on the number and experience of interested authors (Wikipedia users who edit articles).
Almost every Wikipedia article has an alignment to certain categories. Additionally, based on the content, you can specify the subject of the article – for example, using semantic relations on Wikidata or DBpedia. More details on the automatic classification process can be found in various scholarly papers (e.g. for articles or sources).
This article selected the most-developed language versions of Wikipedia with more than 1 million articles, including English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Polish and other. After the classification of articles, only those that are dedicated to individual cities. As a result for English Wikipedia 25398 articles about cities were found, for Spanish – 23343 cities, for Polish – 22790 cities, for Italian – 22631 cities, for French – 21710 cities, for Portuguese – 19635 cities, for Arabic – 19164 cities, for Chinese – 18257 cities, for German – 16429 cities, for Russian – 14587 cities and for Japanese – 7522 cities.
As mentioned earlier, every Wikipedia article can have different language versions, so we can find out different names of the same object (city). Using open data on Wikipedia article views we can find out how many times a given article has been viewed on specific days. After collecting data for viewing all Wikipedia articles on cities in the appropriate language versions May 2020 ranking of the most popular was made. First, the positions of cities in the ranking are shown, which were obtained by adding up the page views from different language versions for a given city. Later, the most popular cities are shown for only one language version of Wikipedia.
Recently we observed that visitors number for some articles was “overclocked” in some periods of time. Therefore, we decide to provide additional modification of the pageview statistics for such cases and change this number (usually by reduction). Fairness of statistics for each article in selected language version in selected months can be assessed using such indicators as: number of the edits and authors, page protection, the rate of citation increasing of the article, popularity statistics of related keywords (phrases) in Google Trends and others.
1st place – Hong Kong
Hong Kong – special administrative region of China, in May 2020 the city was on the 1st place in Chinese, on the 2nd place in Japanese, on the 3rd place in English, French, Russian, on the 5th place in German, Spanish, Portuguese, on the 6th place in Arabic, on the 9th place in Italian and on the 15th place in Polish Wikipedia.
2nd place – New York City
New York City – largest city in the United States, in May 2020 the city was on the 1st place in English, on the 2nd place in Spanish, French, Italian, on the 3rd place in German, Portuguese, on the 6th place in Japanese, Polish, Russian, on the 10th place in Chinese and on the 20th place in Arabic Wikipedia.
3rd place – Singapore
Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia, in May 2020 the city was on the 2nd place in Chinese, on the 4th place in Japanese, Russian, on the 5th place in English, French, on the 6th place in Spanish, on the 7th place in Portuguese, on the 8th place in Arabic, on the 10th place in German, Polish and on the 21st place in Italian Wikipedia.
4th place – Minneapolis
Minneapolis – largest city in Minnesota, U.S., county seat of Hennepin County, in May 2020 the city was on the 4th place in English, on the 7th place in German, French, on the 12th place in Russian, on the 14th place in Chinese, on the 16th place in Italian, on the 17th place in Japanese, on the 26th place in Spanish, on the 27th place in Portuguese, on the 33rd place in Arabic and on the 45th place in Polish Wikipedia.
5th place – Brooklyn
Brooklyn – borough of New York City, New York, United States, in May 2020 the city was on the 2nd place in English, on the 97th place in Russian, on the 108th place in French, on the 159th place in Italian, on the 183rd place in Portuguese, on the 201st place in Chinese, on the 212th place in Japanese, on the 255th place in Spanish, on the 288th place in German, on the 314th place in Arabic and on the 338th place in Polish Wikipedia.
6th place – London
London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom, in May 2020 the city was on the 6th place in Italian, on the 7th place in English, on the 9th place in French, Polish, on the 10th place in Russian, on the 11th place in Spanish, on the 13th place in German, Portuguese, on the 26th place in Arabic, on the 28th place in Chinese and on the 29th place in Japanese Wikipedia.
7th place – Los Angeles
Los Angeles – county seat of Los Angeles County, California; second largest city in the United States by population, in May 2020 the city was on the 6th place in English, on the 10th place in Italian, on the 12th place in French, on the 17th place in German, on the 20th place in Spanish, Chinese, on the 21st place in Russian, on the 24th place in Japanese, on the 26th place in Polish, on the 30th place in Portuguese and on the 57th place in Arabic Wikipedia.
8th place – Paris
Paris – capital and largest city of France, in May 2020 the city was on the 1st place in French, on the 5th place in Polish, on the 8th place in Italian, on the 9th place in Spanish, on the 12th place in German, English, on the 14th place in Portuguese, on the 18th place in Russian, on the 22nd place in Arabic, on the 41st place in Japanese and on the 49th place in Chinese Wikipedia.
9th place – Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. – capital city of the United States, in May 2020 the city was on the 8th place in English, on the 12th place in Italian, on the 13th place in Japanese, on the 14th place in French, on the 24th place in German, Spanish, Russian, on the 26th place in Chinese, on the 29th place in Portuguese, on the 38th place in Polish and on the 41st place in Arabic Wikipedia.
10th place – Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg – federal city in and former capital of Russia, in May 2020 the city was on the 2nd place in Russian, on the 18th place in English, on the 20th place in Polish, on the 21st place in German, on the 23rd place in French, Japanese, on the 28th place in Italian, on the 38th place in Spanish, on the 50th place in Chinese, on the 78th place in Portuguese and on the 80th place in Arabic Wikipedia.
11th place – Moscow
Moscow – capital and most populous city of Russia, in May 2020 the city was on the 1st place in Russian, on the 17th place in Polish, on the 26th place in Italian, on the 27th place in German, on the 32nd place in English, on the 43rd place in French, on the 53rd place in Spanish, on the 59th place in Chinese, on the 69th place in Japanese, on the 81st place in Portuguese and on the 94th place in Arabic Wikipedia.
12th place – Berlin
Berlin – capital and largest city of Germany, in May 2020 the city was on the 1st place in German, on the 11th place in Polish, on the 19th place in French, on the 20th place in Italian, on the 22nd place in Russian, on the 25th place in English, on the 31st place in Spanish, on the 56th place in Japanese, on the 58th place in Arabic, on the 61st place in Chinese and on the 65th place in Portuguese Wikipedia.
13th place – Rome
Rome – capital and largest city of Italy, in May 2020 the city was on the 1st place in Italian, on the 10th place in Spanish, French, on the 14th place in German, Polish, on the 16th place in Russian, on the 22nd place in Portuguese, on the 27th place in English, on the 29th place in Chinese, on the 30th place in Arabic and on the 62nd place in Japanese Wikipedia.
14th place – Tokyo
Tokyo – Capital of Japan, in May 2020 the city was on the 1st place in Japanese, on the 11th place in English, on the 18th place in French, Italian, on the 23rd place in Spanish, on the 29th place in Russian, on the 36th place in Portuguese, on the 39th place in Polish, Chinese, on the 88th place in Arabic and on the 1189th place in German Wikipedia.
15th place – Vatican City
Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state, in May 2020 the city was on the 12th place in Japanese, Polish, on the 13th place in Italian, on the 14th place in Russian, on the 16th place in Spanish, French, Chinese, on the 19th place in Arabic, on the 21st place in Portuguese, on the 23rd place in English and on the 31st place in German Wikipedia.
16th place – Wuhan
Wuhan – capital city of Hubei Province, China, in May 2020 the city was on the 8th place in Japanese, on the 11th place in Chinese, on the 12th place in Spanish, on the 13th place in English, on the 14th place in Italian, on the 26th place in French, on the 28th place in Portuguese, on the 36th place in Russian, on the 37th place in Arabic, on the 54th place in German and on the 65th place in Polish Wikipedia.
17th place – Chicago
Chicago – city and county seat of Cook County, Illinois, United States, in May 2020 the city was on the 9th place in English, on the 24th place in French, on the 31st place in Italian, on the 38th place in Japanese, on the 41st place in Spanish, on the 42nd place in Russian, on the 45th place in Portuguese, on the 49th place in Polish, on the 53rd place in Chinese, on the 57th place in German and on the 98th place in Arabic Wikipedia.
18th place – Monaco
Monaco – sovereign city-state on the French Riviera, in May 2020 the city was on the 6th place in French, on the 16th place in Portuguese, on the 17th place in English, on the 18th place in Japanese, on the 20th place in Russian, on the 27th place in Chinese, on the 28th place in Spanish, Polish, on the 32nd place in Italian, on the 35th place in German and on the 46th place in Arabic Wikipedia.
19th place – San Francisco
San Francisco – consolidated city-county in California, United States, in May 2020 the city was on the 10th place in English, on the 18th place in German, on the 31st place in Chinese, on the 37th place in French, on the 41st place in Russian, on the 42nd place in Italian, on the 60th place in Japanese, on the 69th place in Spanish, on the 83rd place in Portuguese, on the 98th place in Polish and on the 124th place in Arabic Wikipedia.
20th place – Macau
Macau – Special Administrative Region of China, in May 2020 the city was on the 3rd place in Chinese, on the 10th place in Portuguese, on the 15th place in English, Japanese, on the 25th place in Arabic, on the 28th place in French, on the 39th place in Russian, on the 52nd place in Spanish, on the 64th place in German, on the 86th place in Italian and Polish Wikipedia.
The most popular cities in Arabic Wikipedia
- Luxor – city in Egypt
- Alexandria – second largest city in Egypt
- Cairo – capital city of Egypt
- Sharm el-Sheikh – city in Egypt
- Jerusalem – ancient city in the Judean Mountains
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Constantinople – capital city of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, the Latin and the Ottoman Empire
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Mecca – Saudi Arabian city and capital of the Makkah province
- Petra – city in southern Jordan
- Riyadh – capital of Saudi Arabia
- Baghdad – capital city of Iraq
- Medina – Saudi Arabian city
- Istanbul – largest city in Turkey
- Aswan – Egyptian city
- Damascus – capital of Syria
- Hurghada – city in Egypt
- Casablanca – city in Morocco
- Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state
- New York City – largest city in the United States
The most popular cities in Chinese Wikipedia
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Macau – Special Administrative Region of China
- Shanghai – municipality of China
- Taipei – capital of Taiwan
- Beijing – capital of China
- Kaohsiung – A special municipality of Taiwan
- Taoyuan City – city in Taiwan
- Shenzhen – prefecture-level city in Guangdong, China
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Wuhan – capital city of Hubei Province, China
- Chongqing – municipality of China
- Taichung – city in Taiwan
- Minneapolis – largest city in Minnesota, U.S., county seat of Hennepin County
- Guangzhou – capital city of Guangdong Province, China
- Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state
- Seoul – capital city of South Korea
- Tainan – city in southern Taiwan
- Jerusalem – ancient city in the Judean Mountains
- Los Angeles – county seat of Los Angeles County, California; second largest city in the United States by population
The most popular cities in English Wikipedia
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Brooklyn – borough of New York City, New York, United States
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Minneapolis – largest city in Minnesota, U.S., county seat of Hennepin County
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Los Angeles – county seat of Los Angeles County, California; second largest city in the United States by population
- London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom
- Washington, D.C. – capital city of the United States
- Chicago – city and county seat of Cook County, Illinois, United States
- San Francisco – consolidated city-county in California, United States
- Tokyo – Capital of Japan
- Paris – capital and largest city of France
- Wuhan – capital city of Hubei Province, China
- Atlanta – city in DeKalb and Fulton counties in Georgia, United States, county seat city of Fulton County and Georgia federated state capital city
- Macau – Special Administrative Region of China
- Toronto – capital city of the province of Ontario, Canada
- Monaco – sovereign city-state on the French Riviera
- Saint Petersburg – federal city in and former capital of Russia
- Seattle – city in Washington, United States; county seat of King County
- Mumbai – capital city and district in Maharashtra, India
The most popular cities in French Wikipedia
- Paris – capital and largest city of France
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Marseille – commune in Bouches-du-Rhône, the second largest city of France
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Monaco – sovereign city-state on the French Riviera
- Minneapolis – largest city in Minnesota, U.S., county seat of Hennepin County
- Montreal – largest city in Quebec, Canada
- London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom
- Rome – capital and largest city of Italy
- Strasbourg – capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France
- Los Angeles – county seat of Los Angeles County, California; second largest city in the United States by population
- Calais – commune in Pas-de-Calais, France
- Washington, D.C. – capital city of the United States
- Constantinople – capital city of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, the Latin and the Ottoman Empire
- Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state
- Dubai – city in the United Arab Emirates
- Tokyo – Capital of Japan
- Berlin – capital and largest city of Germany
- Jerusalem – ancient city in the Judean Mountains
The most popular cities in German Wikipedia
- Berlin – capital and largest city of Germany
- Hamburg – city and federal state in Germany
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Munich – capital city of Bavaria, Germany
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Vienna – capital and one of nine States of Austria
- Minneapolis – largest city in Minnesota, U.S., county seat of Hennepin County
- Frankfurt am Main – city in Hesse, Germany
- Bremen – city in the Bremen federated state, Germany
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Cologne – city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Paris – capital and largest city of France
- London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom
- Rome – capital and largest city of Italy
- Stuttgart – capital city of German federated state Baden-Württemberg
- Leipzig – city in Saxony, Germany
- Los Angeles – county seat of Los Angeles County, California; second largest city in the United States by population
- San Francisco – consolidated city-county in California, United States
- Dresden – capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany
- Nuremberg – city in the German state of Bavaria
The most popular cities in Italian Wikipedia
- Rome – capital and largest city of Italy
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Milan – major city in Italy
- Naples – city in Campania, Italy
- Florence – Italian city, located in Tuscany
- London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom
- Venice – capital city of Veneto, Italy
- Paris – capital and largest city of France
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Los Angeles – county seat of Los Angeles County, California; second largest city in the United States by population
- Turin – city and commune in Italy
- Washington, D.C. – capital city of the United States
- Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state
- Wuhan – capital city of Hubei Province, China
- Palermo – Italian city, capital of Sicily
- Minneapolis – largest city in Minnesota, U.S., county seat of Hennepin County
- Bologna – city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy
- Tokyo – Capital of Japan
- Republic of Venice – former state in in Northeastern Italy (697–1797)
- Berlin – capital and largest city of Germany
The most popular cities in Japanese Wikipedia
- Tokyo – Capital of Japan
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Kitakyūshū – city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Yokohama – Designated city in Kantō, Japan
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Ōsaka – Designated city in Kansai, Japan
- Wuhan – capital city of Hubei Province, China
- Nagoya – city in Japan
- Fukuoka – capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
- Sapporo – city on Hokkaido, Japan
- Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state
- Washington, D.C. – capital city of the United States
- Kyoto – city in Japan
- Macau – Special Administrative Region of China
- Kōbe – capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Honshū, Japan
- Minneapolis – largest city in Minnesota, U.S., county seat of Hennepin County
- Monaco – sovereign city-state on the French Riviera
- Saitama – city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan
- Tokyo – the 23 wards in the Eastern part of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that used to form a single city
The most popular cities in Polish Wikipedia
- Warsaw – capital and largest city of Poland
- Kraków – city in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
- Wrocław – city in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
- Gdańsk – main city in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
- Paris – capital and largest city of France
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Łódź – city in Łódź Voivodeship, Poland
- Poznań – city in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland
- London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Berlin – capital and largest city of Germany
- Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state
- Toruń – city in north-central Poland
- Rome – capital and largest city of Italy
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Lublin – a city in southeastern Poland
- Moscow – capital and most populous city of Russia
- Szczecin – capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
- Katowice – city in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
- Saint Petersburg – federal city in and former capital of Russia
The most popular cities in Portuguese Wikipedia
- São Paulo – largest city in Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro – city of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Brasília – capital city of Brazil
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Lisbon – capital city of Portugal
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Belo Horizonte – capital city of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Curitiba – capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná
- Macau – Special Administrative Region of China
- Porto – municipality and city in Portugal
- Manaus – city in Amazonas federated state, Brazil
- London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom
- Paris – capital and largest city of France
- Recife – capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil
- Monaco – sovereign city-state on the French Riviera
- Porto Alegre – capital and largest city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul
- Campinas – city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil
- Uruguaya – Brzil
- Fortaleza – city in Northeastern Brazil, state capital of Ceará
The most popular cities in Russian Wikipedia
- Moscow – capital and most populous city of Russia
- Saint Petersburg – federal city in and former capital of Russia
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Kiev – capital and the largest city of Ukraine
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Vladivostok – Russian city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai
- Nur-Sultan – capital of Kazakhstan
- Sevastopol – city in the southwestern region of the Crimean Peninsula
- London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom
- Odessa – city in Ukraine, the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast
- Minneapolis – largest city in Minnesota, U.S., county seat of Hennepin County
- Minsk – capital city of Belarus
- Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state
- Kharkiv – City in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine
- Rome – capital and largest city of Italy
- Almaty – former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation’s largest city
- Paris – capital and largest city of France
- Dnipro – city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine
- Monaco – sovereign city-state on the French Riviera
The most popular cities in Spanish Wikipedia
- Buenos Aires – capital city of Argentina
- New York City – largest city in the United States
- Madrid – capital and largest city of Spain
- Mexico City – capital city of Mexico
- Hong Kong – special administrative region of China
- Singapore – sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia
- Bogota – capital city of Colombia
- Barcelona – capital of Catalonia, Spain
- Paris – capital and largest city of France
- Rome – capital and largest city of Italy
- London – capital and largest city of the United Kingdom
- Wuhan – capital city of Hubei Province, China
- Valencia – city in Spain
- Cartagena – Capital of the Colombian department of Bolívar
- Constantinople – capital city of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, the Latin and the Ottoman Empire
- Vatican City – independent city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy under the sovereignty of the Holy See; world’s smallest sovereign state
- Lima – capital of Peru
- Seville – capital of the province of Seville and the autonomous community of Andalusia in Spain
- Santiago – capital city of Chile
- Los Angeles – county seat of Los Angeles County, California; second largest city in the United States by population
The most popular cities in other months are available on https://wikirank.net/top/city